The Messiah in the Psalms   
OUR GOD IS A GOD WHO SAVES   
Psalm 68: 19 – 26

Our psalm is a hymn, first of assurance, and second a song of anticipation. It affirms great confidence in Israel’s God:
     Our God is a God who saves (v20).

In expectation before the temple, seeing only the singers, musicians, and maidens approaching the place of worship - a procession of mere people - the poet with keen spiritual eye and prophetic insight perceives a human and ceremonial representation of the advance of the Messiah:
     Your procession has come into view, O God, the procession of my God and king into the sanctuary (v24).

The coming Messiah is a Savior in a comprehensive way. He bears daily burdens (v19). He preserves from death (v20). He overthrows his enemies who naturally oppress his people. His enemies are those who go on in their sins (vv21-23).

The consequence of all these things is the fulsome praise of God:
     Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior (v19). Praise God in the great congregation; praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel (v26).

The faith of Israel was very firmly placed in the One who was to come. He would deal with troubles, with enemies, and with death. Messiah would come in great strength. He would arrive and behave as Sovereign Lord. This inspired forecast would be ratified and verified in very similar words by the father of the Baptist, Zechariah the priest. That which was prophesied is now present. Israel rejoiced in the promise; now the people of God may acclaim the advent of Messiah.

Zechariah produces a two-fold hymn of holy rejoicing (Luke1:68-79). Part one describes Messiah’s purpose. The second part describes the heavenly assignment of John his newborn son. Both portions of Zechariah’s song exult in Jesus as Savior, Rescuer, and Redeemer. The words of psalm and song closely correspond. The sentiments correspond exactly.

There is obvious unity in the offering of praise to God. Salvation in all its aspects is granted. Relief from the hatred and harm of the enemy is pledged. Mercy will abound. Fear will be dispelled. Holiness and righteousness will be bestowed throughout life.

Just as the psalmist can aver that God bears his peoples’ burdens, so the priest can render the assurance that divine upholding will assist believing folk throughout the full stretch of their earthly course.

The Jerusalem procession preceded the coming of the Anointed. John the Baptist would precede Messiah more closely. John would point to the great event of forgiveness of sins in the lives of the penitent, announce the divine mercy, and apprise people of the way of salvation and the path of peace.

Both psalmist and priest declare “that our God saves”. Future and fulfillment are both covered by the faithfulness of God. And we who read both compositions possess the warrant of our faith.

(Psalm 110 : 1 - 5)
 
Historically, the Christian church has veered between the sweet Christ and the conquering Christ, between the Christ of mercy and the Christ of wrath. Martin Luther compensated for the imbalanced emphasis on divine anger in his time by emphasizing the compassion of the Savior in his teaching of justification by faith.
 
The tendency should not be to veer over much toward the warrior Christ, or to favor the sweet Christ, but to incorporate within our understanding both the sweetness and the severity of the Lord Jesus. Christ exercises judgment and mercy in his governance of humankind. We should not focus on Christ as timid or tame nor should we view him as a figure of terror eager to cut us down. We live in a limited period of reprieve when sinners all are exhorted to make peace with God through the Redeemer. Amnesty is recommended to all through the gospel. But neglect of the gospel may result in sudden retribution. We cannot toy with the righteous God.
 
There is that beautiful sentiment enunciated in the Belgic Confession of Faith (Reformed) Article XXVI, Christ’s Intercession: “But this Mediator, whom the Father has appointed between him and us, ought in no wise to affright us by his majesty, or cause us to seek another according to our fancy. For there is no creature, either in heaven or on earth, who loves us more than Jesus Christ… If, then, we should seek for another mediator who would be favorably inclined towards us, whom could we find who loved us more than he who laid down his life for us, even ‘while we were his enemies’”.
 
The scepter of Christ is extended over the entire cosmos. It is sovereign over all rebel forces measuring, restraining, countering their evil ways. Soon it will be wielded to shattering effect as God decrees the destruction of all his foes. The armies of rebellion will be routed. The scepter of Christ rises protectively over his people and they yield themselves eagerly to his rule. Christ exercises universal dominion throughout the farthest reaches of the heavens and the vastness of space. Christ is sovereign over the interior of every human life and every historical event that occurs. Everything contributes to the manifestation of his majesty, the glory of the Godhead, and the mercy and justice of heaven.
 
Nothing depletes his power or diminishes the effectiveness of his attributes. His perfection and sufficiency never wanes. All his qualities coalesce in the holy development of his most wise purposes. Christ is to be feared and trusted. Christ is to be believed and obeyed. Christ is to be adored and worshipped. Saint or sinner dwell under his mighty scepter. Happy are those who may call him “my Lord”.

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Isaiah 11 : 1 -10
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In his Pensées (Thoughts) Blaise Pascal is most emphatic of the sublime role of Israel’s prophets in announcing the eventual coming of Messiah for “some four thousand years” of the foretelling of his Advent. Pascal’s sentiments are warmly personal toward “my Saviour who came to earth to die and suffer for me in the time and circumstances foretold.” The most important birth in human history is not related as mere fact or event in time but as a personal gift of grace and joy from God (Luke 2:10, “good news of a great joy,” meaning Jesus).
 
It is fascinating to trace the forecasts of the arrival of the Redeemer of the world and to think that his coming has been foretold for millennia in a variety of ways and figures, and under the various titles that will describe his person and offices. The pulse and drumbeat of the Promise increases as we scan the details of his assured arrival. The Bible in its entirety is the Book of Christ. It is so enticing to capture the developing prophetic message of the Scriptures concerning the Lord Jesus; so arresting to apprehend God’s pledge and preparation to retrieve us to himself through the adorable God-Man – the uniqueness and sufficiency of his purpose of rescue from the mire of sin and prospect of doom.
 
The Old Testament is a library of treasured documents of anticipation of the time and circumstances of our glad deliverance from servitude to evil and alienation from our Maker. There is within it the throb and thrill of union with our soul’s lover and friend and the cancellation of our grim and deserved death as penalty for our rebellious breach with the Triune Almighty One. The Offended forgives and removes our offenses through his substitutionary suffering and death. Every intimation concerning the Messiah is alluring and overwhelming in its significance. Aspects of his nature or character, his undertaking on our behalf, are too colossal for our comprehension to adequately grasp. We are caused to review and ponder the assertions of the Scriptures over and over again, to contemplate them at depth.
 
The things averred by Isaiah about Jesus, for instance, are riddles that incite a sense of profound mystery and delicious intrigue.  In verse one the Messianic figure is referred to as a shoot “that will come up from the stump of Jesse”, the father of King David. The Christ will emerge from Royal background, and yet a Royalty that far exceeds mere earthly dignity (great David’s greater son). This pre-eminence is indicated in verse ten where Messiah is described as the Root of Jesse, by implication the eternal source of David’s regal dignity.  And so the human and divine natures of Israel’s Redeemer are predicated in the One who is both Root and Shoot. The Lord Jesus is both the Base and the Branch of the Royal tree; its producer and product of the Lord’s saving grace, the fruit of divine efficiency. How beguiling this wondrous insight happens to be.
 
How well-equipped our Saviour happens to be: “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (v2). The Lord Jesus is the ordained, resourced, and reliable salvager of lost and believing humanity. Like Blaise Pascal we may be able to confess his lovely and endearing words: “I stretch out my hands to my Saviour.”
 
RJS

1 Chronicles 29:10-13
 
David’s Prayer
(NIV)
 
David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
 
“Praise be to you, Lord,
    the God of our father Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
 
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.
 
Wealth and honor come from you;
    you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
    to exalt and give strength to all.
 
Now, our God, we give you thanks,
    and praise your glorious name.
 
In this comprehensive outburst of prayer David sums up many reasons in both God, and his actions, that are worthy of our whole-hearted praise. God is the author of our faith tradition, its Hebrew origins and our Christian inheritance from that prophetic source. In Holy Scripture we hear from our fathers as well as our Father. The God who has blessed us is everlasting in his being and everlasting in his faithfulness, and we are secure in him everlastingly. A joy to know.
 
God’s personal and essential nature is great and infinitely powerful. He is radiant with uniquely divinely brilliant, bright, blazing and burning excellence and beauty; his glory, majesty, and splendor which David acknowledges and honors in exuberant language of admiration. This wonderful God, David affirms, is the owner of everything: for everything in heaven and earth is yours. The kingdom of creation is God’s. The renewed creation, as the kingdom of righteousness through redemption, will recognize the Lord as head over all.
 
All benefits are bestowed by God from his infinite bounty, at his discretion as his sovereign and indisputable prerogative. All blessings material, circumstantial, or of the mind and soul –  everything that we appreciate comes from him. All the energy and capacities, physical, mental, and spiritual that we exert are at his enabling. A generous Giver governs the earth. The strength and power of God in varying degrees empower us all. “All things are yours”, we say, and in our devotion “we admit, and of your own do we give you”.
 
The treasure that we bring to him in whatever power he has given us – the love and honor of our hearts, our time, our skills, our service in many forms, the substance that we can afford after all obligations are met – these are the treasures of a grateful and dependent being who humbly confesses: It comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you (v17).
 
RJS

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1 Corinthians 15:1-11
 
Paul exhorts believers to hold firmly to the Gospel. It comes initially as information that is genuinely true and Christians may stand upon it with absolute confidence. It is grounded in accurate history and to embrace it does not entail any gullibility whatsoever whatever those who deny it and oppose it may allege.
 
Paul preaches the Gospel with definite certainty in its veracity and its power to salvage the sinful. “By this Gospel you are saved” (v3). The apostolic pledge of the efficacy the message concerning Jesus Christ is the incentive to persevering faith. He addresses the possibility that faith may be professed but not actually possessed within the heart. A superficial belief is in vain. It is found at the tip of the head but is not grounded in the soul.
 
Paul avers the twofold grasp of the apostolic report concerning the Redeemer he proclaims:

a) The tidings concerning Christ are solidly, soundly historical. The details of Jesus’ life and ministry are true. The supremely saving events related by his followers are indisputably real. Christ died, was buried, and rose again (vv. 3-4). The crucifixion was viewed by many - those who loved Jesus and those who loathed him sufficiently enough to kill him. His advocates and enemies stared at the same cruel cross. Roman soldiers saw him expire and certified his demise. Jewish dignitaries buried him. His body was not interred in the earth but laid on a shelf in a rich man’s grave (Joseph of Arimathea). In the cold, dank tomb the Savior was raised to life. The power of the Lord performed the Resurrection on the third day of his decease. The marvel amazed his friends and disciples. They observed together the wonderful work of God.  

b) Peter the denier was especially summoned to see him. The twelve beheld him. Subsequently, five hundred of the band of brothers and believers saw him alive at the same time. This was no illusion - hundreds of people hallucinating together. When Paul was corresponding with the Corinthian church most of the observers were still alive and could guarantee their experience. James should be included on the list of witnesses, and also the totality of the remaining apostles following Judas’ suicide.  
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Finally, Paul adds his encounter with the risen Lord. He knows fully all that he is expatiating upon so convincingly. He knows nothing can be denied and that every fact must be declared. “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance” (v3). Paul received the assurance of the disciples, the report of the five hundred, and then the confirmation of the Messiah’s personal appearance on the Damascus Road.
 
The interpretation of the death, burial, and rising again of the Lord Jesus is enunciated by the apostle. It is the primary principle of the Gospel - all Christian thought, understanding, and proclamation “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (v3). This theme is wide-ranging in its application, but it should never be overlooked that the essence of Christian faith and discourse is “Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1:23). God is best known through his Son nailed to the cross (here we see his heart and the direction of his power), and all things are to be viewed and evaluated through Christ, “who has become for us the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:30). Through belief of the Gospel the truth of history becomes the treasure of the heart.

RJS

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Jeremiah 26: 1-16
 
Preaching the truth of God is a perilous pursuit. It is a certainty that certain people will not like it. It is a guarantee that some folk will resent it. It is inevitable that many hearers will repudiate it. It is incontrovertible that a number of listeners to the word of God will tweak and twist it to their own liking or prejudiced perception of matters and react angrily. The word of God is not popular to the natural mind or the un-renewed heart. It is a strong temptation to resort to human invention that will please the gallery. There are faithful prophets and false prophets, and the latter abound.
 
Gentle Jeremiah was called to the role of faithful prophet - a severe vocation for a very sensitive man. No sane person wishes to be the bearer of bad news, but the good news of the gospel can only be preceded by the bad facts of human guilt, disobedience, and estrangement from God and the curse it entails. Evil results in self-wrought disaster against which God so graciously warns.
 
An ambassador has no right to alter his master’s message. The ambassadors of Christ are attuned to the words of the Lord to Jeremiah: “Tell them every word I command you; do not omit a word” (v. 2). The message to be delivered is the doctrine of Holy Scripture with all the exactitude that the Spirit and his guidance enable.
 
Jeremiah is the great example of the reluctant preacher - not from rebelliousness but sensitivity to the consequences. Not because he would be despised and ill-dealt with (though this would in no way be desirable) but because rejection of the word is dire in its effects.
 
Obdurate persons convert the gospel into an instrument of self-harm attracting its judgment upon themselves through either unbelief or deliberate and ultimate dismissal of any hope of the proffered mercy of God. The actual words of God to lawless Jerusalem were given to the prophet. They had to be spoken with a confidence and vigor not natural to Jeremiah. But God gave to this fearful man a compulsion to utter his truth. It was a daunting assignment, a righteous task from a righteous God, but it was also a compassionate word of warning to the heedless and the hardened over the welfare of their souls.
 
God had borne with his people over long periods and a lengthy catalogue of calls to repentance, and the gaining of his warm forgiveness. But to no avail. Now was the crucial moment when divine delay was no longer possible or of benefit to a willful populace.
 
Preaching is not primarily an exercise in public or religious oratory pleasing to ear, emotion, and intellect. It is the declaration of an urgent bidding to turn to God, to reconciliation with him, rescue from peril, and the delight of communing with him and his redeemed people everlastingly.
 
Jeremiah’s ordeal and rough treatment was a foreshadowing of our race’s disdain for the Lord Jesus who testified, “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has told me.” We do well to listen to the prophet par excellence.


RJS

Romans 6: 1523
 
The contemplation of our natural selves is an essential ingredient in genuine Christian thought. The knowledge of our nature is essential to our faith in God. From our creation the assessment of the human constitution is that we are weak. “The first affirmation of the Old Testament about man and one which underlies all the rest is that he is a creature and as such shares in the feebleness and limitations of all creatures” (Edmond Jacob). We are more dependent upon and upheld by God than we realize. This applies to our nature before the fall. Our flesh is contrasted with the strength and power of God. “The feebleness of man is inherent in his creaturely state” (E.J.).
 
Since the event of the Fall this weakness has now fallen prey to the influence of sin, and detached from God we have no protection from it as an invading and driving impulse. We actually prefer its gratifying dominion over our souls. Its force and enticements enslave us, having gained the consent of the will that is now in bondage to evil. Righteous-ness is alien to our nature and free choices.
 
The consequence, under conviction and admission of sin, its offensiveness to the God who encounters us in his unmotivated mercy, is that the things of the past that fueled and filled our lives of disobedience are now the cause of very painful shame. They were death dealing instruments of a gradual and final separation from God - the dreaded second death. But the freedom and sense of forgiveness in Christ has dramatically altered the fate of the believer. Life is now progress in holiness and, wrapped in that holiness, we shall see the Lord and participate in his everlasting life as eternal companions qualified by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus and born from above by the Holy Spirit.
 
Paul exhorts us to transcend the enslavement of sin with conscious and guarded resolve and recognize that in the transition effected by grace we are actually now the slaves of God in captivity to his love and the wisdom of his righteous will. Paul contrasts the benefits that those who know God actually enjoy in the present and anticipate for the future with the wretchedness of natural man in this world and woes yet to come.
 
Sin pays its grim wages to those in its employ. Under the evil paymaster the pleasures that seemingly accrue are transient and ultimately treacherous to the wellbeing of the soul, wreaking an alienation from God and an appetite for bogus goods and gains that can never satisfy. Sin is absolute subservience to the realm of negativity ruled by the great deceiver. He has nothing beneficial to bestow. Sin is wasting in its nature, depleting of vigor, hope, and joy until it destroys its victims. Holiness is the commencement of abiding in the Lord, strengthening our association with him until we are fully compatible with his nature and made fit for his fellowship. The result of living to and with God is the sublime reality of eternal life - pure gift.

RJS

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Sermon reference: Eternity

Matthew 20:20 - 28
 
This is a passage of Holy Scripture that records an enormous impertinence on the part of Jesus’ aunt - Mary’s sister.  Perhaps it presumes upon closeness of family ties and that Zebedee’s wife assumes that cousins of the Lord would be entitled to special heavenly glory.  “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom” (v21). 
 
Entitlement, feeling special, is a common human trait indulged by most of us in various circumstances.  It may be only momentary.  But in the case of John, James and their mother it was obvious that their request was well-discussed and considered.  All were agreed about the approach to Jesus and it seemed the best tactic to allow a woman, a senior family member, to voice their united desire to a deferential nephew who would regard Mrs Z with great respect. 
 
In the circumstances - the arrogance of the pleaders, and the coming ordeal that Jesus knew he was going to undergo, - the response of the Savior was measured and mild.  “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”  The answer of the brothers is both cocky and casual.  They have no concept of the horror Jesus was ordained to endure, and their foolish over-confidence must have been a wound to Jesus’ heart.  They did not know the bitterness of the cup that Jesus was about to drink and its deep and costly salvific purpose.  They simply saw Jesus as a means to their own greatness of status and privilege - an exact contradiction of the attitude and saving action of the Savior.  
 
There can be no allowance for personal ambition in attachment to Christ.  Kinship to Jesus in the flesh rendered no advantage to his natural relatives.  For real and saving connection to him each of them would have to be born from above.  It is extreme folly, but some persons assume that their affinity to a godly relative, or even a parent who is a servant of the gospel in some way, is sufficient qualification for the kingdom.  Nothing of the flesh, nothing human, nothing of this world fits a person for union with the Lord or everlasting life in his presence.  Nothing human brings credit.  Grace alone admits us to divine favor through trust in the Redeemer.  Believers are never permitted to entertain pride or a sense superiority in anything accomplished for the sake of the kingdom.  Personal ambition and self-satisfied accomplishment are to be unknown in the hearts of God’s people.  Nothing in the way of enterprise, nothing endured is to flatter the ego.  Christ qualifies us; Christ equips us; Christ enables us in every task and godly deed.
 
Christian pride and conceit is the most disruptive force in the community of faith.  The outrageous request of a mother in the interest of her sons caused commotion and agitation within the apostolic band.  “When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers” (v. 24).  Exaggerated self-worth in the cause of Christ (stolen credit) and the seeking of the esteem of men becomes the cause of either sinful envy or justified distaste.  Self-promotion is a pagan urge.  “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them” (v. 25).  Servant-hood is the key characteristic of the true child of God and their nurturers in the faith (v. 26).  
 
Jesus disarms and dispels our foolish pride through his self-revelation as the Son of Man who came to serve in the most ultimate way possible - “to give his life as a ransom for many” (v. 28).  He frees us from enslavement to satan, self, and sin.  The way of salvation is humility, the other side of faith.  The way of service is humbleness.  Categorically, our God and his Son are exceedingly humble. 
 
RJS

Genesis 6: 5-8, 13-18
Matthew 8: 23 -27
 
Water is the great liquid asset of our earth. In its absence there would be no life, animal or vegetable, no generation or growth of any species, plant or sentient, no refreshment, herbal or human; no sustenance for any creature whatever. Water is the generous and essential gift bestowed by God to all living things upon our planet. Every drop is a marvel for which we should be grateful. It provides power in various forms. It creates prosperity. It speaks symbolically of divine promise both in the natural sphere and the spiritual realm. It is given for our consumption and our contemplation. Water is one of our chief necessities, and as such it is supremely good. But in our world, disordered by our breach with God, water can also constitute a danger and be used by our Maker as an instrument of judgment. Creation animated by it may also be annihilated by it. Dependent upon it, we may also be destroyed by it. Energy and elements moved by God may become the enemies of wickedness and be deployed in the cause of divine justice and the vindication of his pure righteousness.
 
Water is a cleansing agent. It removes dirt (bathing). It represents purification (hence baptism).  Water as judgment is found in the narrative of the flood commencing in Genesis ch 6 - a devastating occurrence of divine displeasure. Noah’s world is drowned in a prolonged downpour of wrathful rain. The waters rise, the world is ruined, the race is erased from the earth - except “Mr Noah” and his family. Noah finds grace i.e. salvation from doom through the Ark that the Lord has designed for him. In actual fact, “Grace finds Noah” (Alec Motyer). This information as to divine favor toward God’s chosen ones of the former covenant ultimately germinates over time into the full apostolic gospel. Christ is foreshadowed in the deliverance of Noah. “Blessedness there is none, except in the Gospel-ark, which is Christ Jesus. Behold him! Behold him! What is the ark of old to us, but an emblem of his full redemption?” (Henry Law).
 
The surging, raging, angry danger of water is illustrated in Matthew ch 8 vv 23 -27 when Jesus calmed the furious storm that terrified his disciples as they crossed the lake. It arrived all of a sudden and the waves swept over the boat. These professional fishermen and skilled navigators were reduced to unfamiliar panic. “But Jesus was sleeping” (v24). It did not occur to them that even the passive presence of Jesus spelt absolute safety. They prodded and pleaded with Jesus to awaken: “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” (v25).  Their faith was sufficient to call on him but they had no complete comprehension of the status and power of their silent passenger.  “You of little faith, why are you so afraid”. Jesus rebukes the small confidence of the disciples. “Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” (v26). Every observer of the teaching of the Old Testament would know that control of the waters and the wind was a divine prerogative. The divinity of the Lord Jesus and his Savior-hood was declared in his dominion over the elements. Every ultimate danger due to alienation from God is removed in him. This will be the case in heaven.

Hebrews hated the chaos and cruelty of the sea. They avoided the sea as much as possible. It would pose no threat in the coming kingdom of God. John’s vision in the Book of Revelation would confirm this welcome truth. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea (21:1). The dread possibility of being swamped and drowned had been forever taken away. The likelihood of falling fatally into water had been entirely removed. The sea before the throne of God is depicted as safely solid - a sea of glass (4:6).
 
RJS

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Matthew 7: 13-14,21-29

 
Lord, there is one priority in our life above all others; one obligation to serve and love you in that very striking way in which our Savior describes it in his summary of the Law: Love God with all your heart, mind and soul and with ALL your strength. Lord, may we so capture a vision of your glory, your greatness, your majesty, your worth, that we become utterly devoted to you in our lives, and that as we consider this passage of Jesus’ teaching, may we realize the great imperative: this life is primarily for an opportunity to meet you, to close with you and to enjoy life with you forever. So, Lord, bless us as we consider this passage, we pray. Be tender. Be gentle. Be compassionate. But also be honest, we pray. In our Savior’s name, Amen.
 
Our passage this morning suggests to us the absolute imperative; the priority of our acknowledgment of God; our service of him, his being utterly first in our lives. Whenever I read the Summary of the Ten Commandments, I crumble within. It’s not just giving God a nod here and there; a little space of time; a little bit of devotion; a little bit of spare time that nothing else is going to preoccupy for us – Wholly devoted! The center of our being and our heart and our attention, and our thinking, our being and our speaking. Every time I read that summary of the Law, I know what condition of sin is. Do I love God with all my heart? No! …Catch him whenever’s convenient. Do I love God with all my soul? No! There are so many other preoccupations, Lord; and preferences and priorities. So many pleasures to seek as well as obligations to fulfill; I scarce have time for you. Do I love you with all my heart? How cold my heart is before you, O Lord! How long it takes to warm my heart to devotion and to time with you. Your gift of time, and I spend it elsewhere. With all my strength? No, Lord! Most of the time I’m too tired to pay attention to you, to be active in worship, because the word Liturgy means work? To work at worship? No, Lord. No, I don’t – forgive me! And on that basis, I have no right on my own authority to address anybody else about these things. But my calling is to preach the word of God whether I’m comfortable with it or not. And so, this morning, we look together at the absolute imperative that Jesus has stated.
 
We do seek out the passage again: “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” You see, Jesus is administering to his people, something of a shake-up – the emergency of salvation. You and I – and I’m not just using scare tactics – it’s a reality! As I’ve mentioned many times, I had a visiting preacher when I was in England; a lovely old gentleman, who came to steps like this to proclaim the blessing and collapsed. As he was about to give the blessing, he died. But he inherited the blessing that he had through Christ in the gift of eternal life. You see, salvation is so vital it must be seized the moment it is suggested to us. As the Lord says, “I will not always strive with the spirit of man.” It must be grasped with all our might. It must be pursued with earnestness – full intent! The old Puritans used to speak of souls being exercised; avidly praying to gain the gift of salvation. And Jesus speaks here of the two ways (Matthew 7:13-14); and he uses the words “few find the way to life”. This is not an arithmetical problem. How many will be in heaven, or how many will be excluded? That is to misuse the passage. It is to show that Jesus uses such a word to tell us that there is no other priority in our life but entering the narrow way to the Kingdom. To seize the day! The “few” that Jesus uses is there to make us urgent in our quest for knowing God, to foster keen intent. It’s our life’s solemn priority. You know, John Bunyan – and I meant to look it up before coming – in his Pilgrim’s Progress, speaks of one who gains the gate to heaven. He thinks he will enter. He’s there at the very gate. And as he seeks to pass through, the door is closed, because in his heart he is not ready for the Kingdom. It is possible for people to move to such an extent in their understanding of the faith as they think it, in their pursuit of it as they believe they are, and yet to have wrong notions of salvation and to find that in the end you are excluded from entry because our qualification for entry is Jesus Christ and him alone.
 
And that’s where our faith must lie – and I’m not going to look up all the references I could this morning – but you see, when Jesus speaks of the gate, he tells us in John 10:9 that he is the gate and whoever makes entrance through him will gain eternal life. It’s not that God is mean or not generous; Christ’s arms are broad and would welcome everyone and anyone into the Kingdom. The fact is that human nature is not attracted to the Kingdom. Many are carelessly mistaken. (Matthew 7:21-23) “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the Kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ And I will tell them plainly, I never knew you; away from me you evil doers.”
 
I think a lot about eternity at night time – I’m sorry for the personal story, but I’m not getting at anyone – I’m simply saying that we as humans before God, need as a priority to get right with God and to be sure of it. And I know that to deceive oneself is so easy and I’ve often thought of the shock to the system that if you think you know God and you’re familiar with Him but you haven’t taken the narrow way, the way of not just acknowledging Christ but the way of obedience through faith and through attention to his commands and loving him with all your heart, mind and soul and all your strength – which is what he deserves! He gave us our heart mind and soul. And every iota of strength that we have comes from God; physical, mental, spiritual. I’ve often imagined what would it be like… What would it be like if the Lord came now at 2 a.m. and I’m there solo in front of Him, and I’ve got all my ideas of the faith and all my experiences as a professed believer and all the things I think I know about the way of God. And what if I were to look to the throne and I would see the nod of the Lamb of God and I were directed to the left as one of the goats and not of the sheep?
 
I look into the eyes of everyone and I think, where will you be? Where will you be? You see, exclusion is a possibility we must reckon on. I’m not saying personally, for ourselves, but there will be people who will be shut out of the Kingdom depending on their attitude to the lord Jesus Christ. Luke 13:22-27… You see, we ought to sit bolt upright when we hear the Word of God; BOLT UPRIGHT!  – it’s our only link with heaven and with the Lord. (Luke 13:22-27) “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as He made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, ‘Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?’ ” Jesus isn’t answering that question in mathematical terms. His language is one of urgency. Don’t consider others in that sense, consider your own responsibility. Do you want to be in the Kingdom? Ensure that you are! There are two perspectives on this: If the Lord is sovereign and triumphant through the death of Christ, then surely the majority of human beings will be in heaven by His grace. It’s not a sentimental approach, it’s by His grace. We are undeserving. And there is the other view based on passages like this, that Jesus always calls his flock a little flock. It may be a term of affection; it may indicate that those who gain heaven will be many as Jesus tells us in Matthew, chapter eleven. “Many will come from the East and West and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom.” Many will come, but comparatively it may be few compared to the absolute total of human beings that have dwelt on this planet. Who knows? That’s speculative. Jesus is saying don’t speculate! Make sure you’re not too late. He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door.” Is that our resolve every day when the opportunity comes? No! It’s not mine, I admit it. My mind is distracted by so many things, so many temporal and cheap affections that I could well do without. But Jesus says, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door.” I consider the great suffering of hell will be the realization of lost opportunity. I was created to know God; I ignored him; I departed from him; I disobeyed him and now I know the consequence that having abandoned him, he now realizes that I’m not happy with his fellowship, that I don’t truly desire it, that I don’t prefer holiness and therefore God gives way to my preference and I am abandoned by him. Imagine the shock of that! No further chance, no further opportunity. The Lord passes me by because I ignored Him so many times.
 
If you get a chance, read the life of Brownlow North, the great English evangelist of the Nineteenth Century, who ignored God and His call, time and time again, roistering in night clubs and spending time opening wine bottles and celebrating with the crowd. And then, he said, one night there was a tap on his shoulder, as it were, from the Lord, and he said, “I know this is my last chance. If I refuse this time, it’s forever.” And with that urgent awareness, Brownlow North became a believer and, in due course, a powerful preacher of the gospel. And his interpretation of the rich man and the poor man – If you are as careless about your soul, it will keep you awake all night. As he said so often, “I know if that if I’d resisted one more time, that would have been the end.”
 
I think there are times like that for all of us, not as drastic, but we sense this call to be with the Lord as our priority, as a bit of free time, as a bit of spare space in our day. And the Lord says, “Come on, I’m waiting. Your name’s in my diary. I want an appointment with you.” And for some reason we shrug it off. Oh no, Lord, I must do this, or there is something else that I would enjoy more. And you realize how impoverished your soul is because of that refusal. Sorry to go back to personal experience, but there was a day when I was free and I planned to go from the Isle of Wight to the mainland, to Portsmouth. And as I walked past my door and saw my desk and empty chair, it was as if God was saying, “Come aside”. He wasn’t saying don’t go at all, just come aside. And I very deliberately went to the front door, walked through it and closed it. And I had this dreadful sense! – there was the Lord begging me to stay. For how long? Five minutes? Ten minutes? Ten hours? I don’t know. But I refused it and the recovery period was very long.
 
Did I read the passage from Luke? Here it is… “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” That’s the pang of hell… not being able to – the same as Brownlow North says about the poor man who went to Abraham’s bosom and the rich man who was cast into hell. And he was saying, “I can’t, you know? There’s a gulf between us. I can’t cross it. But Lord, send Moses to my brothers and they’ll listen to him.” No! You see, the brothers were too preoccupied too with wealth-getting and worldly security and worldly obligations and worldly goals. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul,” says Jesus? It is so crucial. It’s as critical as that! One day you and I are going to stand before the Lord who reads the hearts and when he reads the verdict on us, and – if it’s unfavorable – we shall fully agree because all the book is at the end of life and the Day of Judgement is our conscience being opened to us. And, Lord, I can see how I refused you. I can see how I neglected you, that I forgot you – you weren’t important to me! “Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you. Well, where do you come from?’ ‘But Lord, I’ve been walking with you.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets.’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me all you evildoers.’ ” You see, the great evil is departing from God, ignoring him, not recognizing him, not returning to him, not engaging our minds upon him. Our creator, our maker, our sustainer, our savior; and we scarcely give him a thought? Except when we need something or we’re frightened of something.
 
Time is fleeting. Prophets and apostles and the Lord’s parables all make this message clear: Make haste! Matthew 25:13. Our church is, as it were, a dedication of St Matthew’s. It doesn’t mean anything profound, but I think when we’ve looked at anything from Matthew, we ought to take a little more notice of our patron saint. And so, here it is, Matthew 25:13… because it would be nice to be with him for a time in eternity, wouldn’t it? All those who’ve loved the Lord and have so much to relate about him... Here’s Matthew 25:13, “Therefore keep watch because you don’t know the day or the hour.” The Lord Jesus is the only gate. He’s the only gate! John 10:9, “I am the gate. My sheep hear my voice and those who, through me, come through that gate shall be saved.” You see, when people say, isn’t salvation by Christ exclusively rather indicative of a narrow-minded God? No! Christ is wide open to the sinners of this world and their needs and their destiny. He bids them come to him. The fact is, people don’t come. And therefore they’re excluded. Christians are only people who know where bread is to be found. They’re beggars like everybody else. They know where the bread of life is to be found and they’re trying to tell other people, equally beggars, this is where you can find food and sustenance for your soul; the food that is preparation and the sustenance of eternal life through Christ. You see, God’s mercy is wide to all who come. Go to the Galleria today and you’ll see all those people who do not come. Go to some churches today who want a cozy message and invented stories that are not from Scripture; moralistic advice, sentamentalized religion. They choose it, they stay with it, they don’t come. Do you know, the greatest priority in selecting a congregation is, “Where do you hear the word of God?” But you see, few people trust the generosity of the Lord. The Kingdom bids us come but most pass by the entrance swung wide open. Noone prevents anyone from gaining the Kingdom but themselves. Noone gains the kingdom but those whom the Lord draws to himself. You see, what I rejoice about is that God did not leave me to my free will. That desire to do without God, be without him, to be, as some atheists say, FREE!... Free of all authority and control. And when you come to know Christ, you love his yolk. You love his wisdom. You love his commands because they’re all designed to enhance our life in God and our appreciation of him. You see, the broad way is chosen – chosen – by the majority. They’re not forced or compelled, except they’re compelled by their own worldly and evil desires. Did John Bunyan speak of Vanity Fair? It’s a matter of preferences, preoccupations, pressures, pleasures. And they’re all ours; we choose them. We do what we desire. We cannot blame God. But we can only thank God if we hear his voice and come to him by his especial drawing. Because with his chosen ones, God says, “I will not let you have your destructive way! I will woo you to myself!”
 
The grace of God goes out to all without exception in the message of the Gospel and with some, many in constraints aswell, but they refuse to come. And we all would have refused to come, but another way of grace goes out from the Almighty and He says, “This time, the ones I select will come because I’ll woo them. I’ll win them. I’ll show my attractiveness to them. I’ll show them their poverty and need, and my spiritual wealth and generosity and they will be drawn powerfully and yet willingly.” Because God bends the heart, changes the nature, tenderizes our will so that we respond to him positively. It’s all of grace, salvation. It’s all of our own choosing, damnation.
 
The love of God is not the prime consideration, motivation, or enjoyment of those who are excluded from the Kingdom of heaven. I actually know now from talking to people at death about their rejection of Christ that they would be miserable in heaven because Christ means nothing to them. They’re not moved by his love. They don’t find him beautiful or attractive. When I chose the two quotes for the bulletin today I didn’t think that they would be relevant to this scene. Thomas Aquinas says Augustine declares that nobody rightly uses God, for he is to be enjoyed. We don’t come to him out of cupboard love or necessity or circumstantial desperation. We come because he wants us to enjoy him. It’s the devil’s lie that God is mean and miserly. The last end is not utility. You see, God isn’t just a utility. But he is to be enjoyed. The first question is, “What is the chief end of man?” in the Scottish shorter catechism. And Robert Louis Stephenson, after a career of writing anti-religious and anti-God literature, with his hastened tuberculosis went to live in Samoa. In that place of isolation and inactivity, he said, “At last, I came to understand the catechism in which I was trained as a boy and I realized what the purpose of my life was.” And there it is in the shorter catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God,” which we do when we capture a view of Him in His excellence and majesty and beauty and mercy. “And enjoy him forever!” We’re not deprived of Joy when we come to Christ. It is multiplied beyond all measure. The lovely Lord Jesus is so attractive, so full, so generous, but sometimes in our little bodies that are so fragile, we say, Lord I can’t take anymore of this ecstasy - it is too much for me. Like a frail jar, I will just splinter and break if you fill me anymore.
 
Here’s the paradox. When it comes to the gospel and salvation we are told not to work. It’s not a consequence of our effort. It’s not via works or our own righteousness or anything within us. It’s not achieved by anything human or of ourselves. We rest in the promises, or one should say, the great comprehensive promise, the gift of the Messiah. Our substitute on the Cross. The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We rest in God’s salvation. We receive it. And yet, at the same time, Scripture bids us to strive for possession; not by works, not by trust in the self, but by intense desire; to strive for salvation. Lord, I look at you; I find you so appealing, so attractive… I must have you, above everything else in this life and the life to come.
 
Matthew 11:12, Jesus is talking about John the Baptist. “I tell you the truth, among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet he who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of …” this is very poignant… “from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing.” Grace is a very strong, omnipotent power. It deals with hostility to God and that residual hostility within ourselves: that aversion to God. And it overcomes us. It tames us. It draws us to God when we would flee from him. O, I know what that’s like, to flee from God. Adam and Eve knew that too. We’re not ready to meet with him and we don’t want to. God works within. It may be gradual. It may be sudden. And he softens and tenderizes the heart. Ezekiel says, “I will take away the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” You see, grace is a force, it is a strength. If there was some emergency in this church at this moment, a fire, an explosion, or whatever, and somebody in this chapel was very close to the source of harm and injury and we rushed up to them and grabbed them or virtually thrust them out of the door, that wouldn’t be an assault, it would be mercy. It’s the force of compassion and grace that God exercises upon our lost, hostile souls.
 
So, the love of God, in one sense, is violent. “I will not let you go; I will not lose you!” But here’s the, I think, amazing meaning of this selected verse, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. It’s the greatest power in the world. People mock it: Atheists, various ideologies, proud men – Proud men who rely on their own minds and their own natural understanding, which is so limited. How many experts have let you down? How many experts have messed up the world with bad policies and bad use of wonderful inventions? Trust no man. Don’t trust in Princes, says the Psalmist. They may be elevated in society, but they may be disastrous in themselves. Forceful men lay hold of the forcefully advancing kingdom. The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it. In other words, when we think about the entrance to the kingdom of heaven, the gate into eternal life, the gate into the narrow way that takes us infallibly to eternal life, SHAKE THOSE BARS! Take the kingdom forcefully. I mean it, Lord; I need your grace! Jacob, wrestling in the brook Jabok with the angel, that preincarnate Christophany, Christ appearing before he was born as man, and wrestling with Jacob. And Jacob says, “I will not let you go until you bless me!” You see, in prayer we’re wrestling with God. We’re not being impertinent. We’re saying, God you have given us promises; we argue those promises with you. I will not let you go until you bless me! I so need your favor, your blessing, your grace, your forgiveness. And so we rattle those bars until the doorkeeper opens them, which he’s always been willing to do.
 
So there’s a holy violence. And our violence is to enter the kingdom of heaven. And we need it. And we work on our relationship with God. We set aside periods in our life. Everyone’s life is full, but it’s fuller than it ought to be. There should be time for God, the giver of life. He gives us each day fresh. It’s not a conveyer belt. It’s every day. The lord creates a new day and he says, come and spend some of it with me. And so we come to his Word and we lean on his spirit and we converse with him and we ponder him and think about him. I know for some people it’s a hard thing to set aside with regularity but I also believe we make too many excuses. It should be our total aim. What a blessing it is to be inserted into the fellowship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And we get these little biddings daily and we say, no thank you. What is this life without God? What is it?  Why do so many celebrities commit suicide? Why do so many successful people take their lives? Because they don’t find satisfaction in their attainments or their acquisitions. As Pascal says, the only thrill for man is the pursuit. But once you’ve got what you want, it’s empty and you have to move onto the next one. That’s why you’ve got billionaires. The first billion – O, isn’t it wonderful! I’ve got security in this world! I’ve got power in this world! They don’t really, you know. They never know when they’re going to have to relinquish it –  Ecclesiastes. And then it has to be the next billion. And then it has to be the trillion. Because man cannot be satisfied by things or the things of this world in any way. And Jesus actually said, and we know it’s a somewhat wry expression, but he puts it in these terms, “If you don’t hate mother and father and children for my sake, you do not know me.” You see, we are called into very, very important and intimate relationships. And Jesus isn’t saying hate your relatives, hate your spouses. He’s saying by comparison (because I am the one who blesses you with these people) put me first.  It’s not God being mean. It’s saying, you want pleasure, you want joy, you want companionship? You find it in me. And I will create it in your loved ones for you.
 
The key chronological statement of Holy Scripture; the most vital exhortation that we find in the Bible is this: Now is the day of salvation! Who says that? The apostle, Paul. 2 Cor 6:2. (The great scholar of Gamaliel.) “As God’s fellow workers…” You see, he doesn’t presume that even his companions in the faith are absolutely right with God because we don’t know where anybody else stands. We cannot make the judgement… and we shouldn’t. But “as God’s fellow workers, I urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For,” he says, and he’s quoting the Old Testament, “in the time of my favor I heard you and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor. Now is the day of salvation.” That’s all we have: NOW! I guess what Paul is saying is, don’t miss the moment. Don’t miss the moment. I have a senior colleague in England with a great sense of humor. He was a great communicator. And he wrote a book for popular audiences. It was about the brevity of time and the earnestness with which we ought to seek God, and the warmth and welcome and width of his invitation. And the book was “Don’t Miss the Party”.
 
Let us pray.
 
Lord, make haste to save us. Make haste to help us. Make haste to claim us, possess us and hold us to yourself. Do not let us escape your mercy. Do not let us overlook the great priority of knowing you in your tenderness as a saving God, as a redeeming Lord, as a forgiving Judge. Lord have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.